"Europe is betraying its constitutional ideals" - Criticism of human rights issues being left out during the EU-China Summit

Before the opening of the 15th EU-China Summit in Brussels on Thursday, the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) accuses the European Union (EU) of trying to avoid any discussions about human rights issues during the summit and of giving in to pressure from China. "Europe is betraying its constitutional ideals", said the STP's Asia-expert, Ulrich Delius, in Göttingen on Wednesday. "Although the human rights situation in China is not improving, this critical issue is more and more being shifted to the EU-China human rights dialogue and to the UN Human Rights Council – but without any noticeable results." The main focus of the 15th EU-China Summit of 2012 – the second this year – lies on economic issues and on the situation in Syria.

"It is alarming how the EU has already become dependent on China's undemocratic leadership. The constant development of economic relations and the struggle for Chinese assistance in the Euro crisis are clear signs," criticized Delius. "But the escalation of the dispute with Japan proves how unpredictable the Chinese authorities can be. Europe would do well to show more sense of judgment and more attention in maintaining the relationship to China's leaders."

According to Delius, there should be enough topics of conversation, given the dramatic situation in Tibet, where more than 50 people burned themselves as a form of protest against China's politics since 2009 – and in view of the continued attacks on human rights activists. But not even within the EU-China Human Rights Dialogue do the Europeans succeed in trying to establish any standards to measure future success or failure. "Thus, the dialogue is mainly a showcase for the critical public in Europe. A real commitment towards human rights is another matter."

According to the Society for Threatened Peoples, the outsourcing of human rights issues to the EU-China Human Rights Dialogue has not been a success. The EU must already be content if China's government doesn't randomly cancel a meeting – as most recently in 2011. China also insists on holding only one meeting a year in future, instead of twice a year as it is now. In view of the STP, this is another clear sign for how little importance China's government sees in these expert talks. The 31st and most recent Human Rights Dialogue meeting ended in May 2012, again without any tangible results.